Auto hoist



F. E. DRAKE.

AUTO HOIST. APPLICATION HLED 0CT. 27, 1920.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922,

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WWI/675 60/534195 BY g mwwv A TTORNEY.

F. E. DRAKE.

AUTO HOIST.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27. I920.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922..

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ATTORNEY.

F. E. DRAKE.

7 AUTO HOIST. 7 APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21, 1920.

1,413,526. Patented p 18, 1922.

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ATTORNEY.

UNITED s? FRANCISE. DRAKE, or DAVENPORT, IOWA;

nU'ro HoIs'r. f r r 'Appl ication' filed October 27, 1920. 'Seria1"No. 419341. i

T all whom'itmay-concern Be it known that 1 FRANCIS E 13mm; a, citizen of the United States, residing at -Davenport, in the countyof Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Auto Hoists, 0t which the following is a specification;

The invention has reference to machines or apparatuses for llfting'or hoisting heavy with increased stability andease of operation, withadjustability of the liftingfelement" to decrease orenlarge the'leverage;

An additlonal 0b ect 1S to-provide a hoisting apparatus of generally improved construction, in which theliftingrelements are adjustable either vertically or longitudinally so as toadapt the device to various purposes and to insure theload being carried centrally with respect to-thehoist frame at all times.

An additional object is to provide hoisting apparatus of a mobile character-and toprovide itwith'improved steering means, enablingthe hoist to be guided'ina'ny direction in the course of transferring a load to a particularjlocation. lVith the above and other ob ects'ln View, the invention may be said to res de generally in the details of construction, combination" and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully pointed out-anddescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, where1n I g V Flgure 1 is a; side elevation of 'a holst con- 40 structed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation. Flgure 3 1s a top plan view.

Figure 4 is a detail, sectional viewtaken on line 4.4- of Figure l, and

Figure 5 is a detail view-of the upper joint connection between thepivoted ends of the lift-arm, I V

In the preferredembodiment of the invention, the main frame and'lifti'ng arms are constructed of suitably sized commercial steel bars, riveted together and held apart-by short pipes or separators through which the rivets pass, as indicated more clearly" in the several views of thedrawing. I The upright's' are *of channel iron or steel and mounte'd up'on 'j Specificat ion of Letters ratent. Pit-tented: Apr,

' the frame a the'bafck ands'ides thereof. The

entire framework is of a skelet'onistructuref so as 'not to'add'unnecessarily to the weight of thedevice'and comprises, aba'se 1,"f o'rme'd fU-shaped'; and having its maven-as, connected by'a cross axle' 2, upon which a're' f mounted wheels orcasto'r's3. Azse'cond shaft 4, isgarranged inwardly towardt'he arched end of-the base and is likewiselprovided with castors 3. Two of the three uprightscar rled by the frame are mounted upon" the latter inwardly of axles Qandet, and near the latter as shown to advantage in Figure" 1-; T hese uprights; indicated at 5 and 5 re'-. spectively, extend upwardlyto an appre= ciable-height and have their channele'd'or grooved surfaces facing inwardly t0"pro-' vide slideways within "which work slidelroll ers 6. The rollers are carried by axles '7 rigidly connected to a lifting 'bar 8 and to which-they are angularly disposed as shown in Figure 2; :The lifting bar extends cross? I wise in a horizontal plane between the side uprights and-is disposedto move vertical-1y between the uprights the guide rollers keep-[ ing it in'position while being-adjusted; Con- 1 necting' the sldeuprightsat their upper ends i is a bridge bar 9, which supports the bearing units '10, said units being fastened to thew i 'bar 'by suitable means" 11} Supported throughthese bearings is a worm-gear shaft 12, provided adjacent each end with a cable drum 13. The gear 14} of this shaft is 10- Gated at a central point, and enclosed within 3 the gear, case l5,"wliich likewise encloses the.

worm 16. "Th'e worm sliaft'extend's rearwardly atright angles to the'worm gear shaft and is journaled through a'boxing l8 suitably mounted at the upper terminal of'rear up right 19. This upright is located at the rear of the base and at a. point centrally disposed withre'sp'ect ltothe side upright; and :is likewise arranged with its-channeled or grooved face opening inwardly andprovides a vertically disposed s'lidewa'y'for a-guide ele- 21 having several bolts 22, dependingdowliv wardlytherethrough' and engaging a lower or clamping plate 23, held in' place'byfnu'ts- 24. V The top plate is nrovid'ed with' arms 25, which e'xten'd' outwardly and embrace the a rear uprights on opposite sides, being bong", nected across the rear wauor the uprights by Ineansof a guide roller Tliisro'ller'trav els'oif the outside offthe upright and takes I mentQO. This element consists of a top'plate care of the forward and backward motion of the lifting element during the operation of the hoist.

The lifting element comprises a pair of lifting arms 26, each having its inner end clamped between bars 21 and 23, and pivoted upon respective connecting bolt 22, which passes therethrough. The arms are so disposed between the uprights as to extend over and across the lifting bar 8, which thus provides a support or fulcrum for the arms. At its outermost end each arm is provided with a hook 27, and by reasonof the pivotal connection, the outer ends of the hook may be adjusted horizontally across the fulcrum 8 so as to approach or recede from each other. As the arms swing in the arc of a circle it is evident that the adjustment in a horizontal plane across the fulcrum tends to increase the leverage as the arms approach and to decrease it as they separate. In order that the arms may move in unison whenever one of them is actuated they are connected adjacent their pivoted terminals, by a knuckle-joint coupling 28, consisting of ball and socket knuckle to automatically keep the arms equi-distant from a line passing horizontally through the center of the frame and lifting bar. Accordingly, the adjustment of one of the lifting arms in a horizontal plane. causes the corresponding adjustment of the co-operating arm, and thus allows arms to be conveniently and promptly adjusted to suitably engage and support the object to be hoisted.

The weight or object to be hoisted is supported upon that portion of each arm which projects forwardly beyond the fulcrum or bar 8, upon which it rests, and to avoid overbalancing of the arms when heavy objects are being lifted, an equalizing device is asso ciated with the inner or pivoted terminals of the arms. It comprises an equalizing cable 29, having its terminals connected to eyebolts 30 and '22 carried respectively by the fulcrum bar 8, and guide 20, to which they are adjustably secured by means of tightening nut 31. This cable is passed over sheavewheels 32 which govern the direction of the equalizing cable. One of these sheaves is mounted at the rear end of the base, and be low the lifting-arm, while the other two are respectively mounted adjacent the upper ends of the uprights, one being suitably bracketed to the upper edge of cross bar 9, while the other is carried by braces 33, which support and connect the uprights to which they are fixedly attached. This equalizing arrangement tends to keep the lifting arms in a horizontal position at any and all times holding it balance d upon the fulcrum bar, at

all stages in its vertical adjustment. 7

Theraising or lowering of the lifting arms I is accomplished through movement of fulcrum bar 8 which is supported in position ment while the rear guide 20 prevents any between the side uprights by means of hoisting cables 34, wound about the cable drum 1?) and having their ends secured to adjustable eye bolts 35, carried by the fulcrum bar. As the drums wind the cable the fulcrum bar is raised vertically between the uprights carrying with it the lifting arm, and the object supported thereby. Slide rollers 6, tendto hold the lifting bar firm in its hoisting movebackward or forward motion. By the fulcrum bar, the operator is enabled tolocate the lifting arm at any desired height without interfering with the travel of the cable and the guide element keeps the moving part centrally disposed with respect to the same. Adjustment of either the equalizing or hoisting cables is possible through the eyebolt and tightening nut arrangement, since adjustment of these parts will tend to tension or relax the cable to the desired degree.

The cable drums are rotated to wind or un-. wind the hoist cables through the rotation of worm-shaft 17. The shaft isprovided adjacent one end with a chain sheave 36, about which is looped the operating chain 36. Upon the pulling of the chain the sheave is turned to rotate the worm shaft, causing thev worm 16 to rotate gear 14 for turning the cable drum, and winding or unwinding the hoist cables according to the direction in which the chain is pulled. The worm and worm-gear mechanism is preferred not only on account of its simplicity and safety, but particularly on account of its ability to stay 100 put regardless of load or position.

To increase the mobility of the hoist and to enable it to be'readily transported from place to place, a steering dolly, in the nature of a jack is associated with the forward or 105 arched end of the base and comprises a casting 37, riveted or otherwise fixed to the frame, and provided with a ball socket 38'to receive the ball end 39 of the angularly disposed end of thedolly handle or lever -10. This lever is mounted upon rollers 41 and 1 has its two divergent portions suitably braced as at 42. In the normal or ordinary position of the parts, the dolly is disposed with the rollers faced outwardly from the frame and provides an auxiliary support for the rear end. The ball 39, however, turns easily within the socket 238, so that upon forcing the handle down the rear end of the frame is lifted clear of the supporting structure, and the weight of the same supported upon rollers 41. The ball and socket joint allows the dolly to be readily turned to either side, which enables the hoist to be guided in any direction inthe course of transferring the load to any selected location. I In using the hoist, the hook ends of. the

lifting arms are employed for supporting the weight or object to be hoisted and may be either swung together, so as to be used as a single hook, for lifting out motors, trans enable a mechanic to disassemble the front axle complete. The mobility of the'hoist enables it to be readily applied to the rear end of an auto to permit the same operation. As the' lifting bars are moved vertically through a corresponding adjustment of the fulcrum bar 8, upon which it rests, the

weight or object supported therebyis likewise elevated; the arms being balanced by the action of the equalizer. that a hoist of the character above described is not confined to auto work only, but is capable of a wide range of usefulness and in desirable instances maybe used as a working platform in repairing line shafting, electric wiring, elevating heavy merchandise, et cetera.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings have reference to what might be considered the approved or preferred form of my invention. I desire it to be understood that I may make such changes in the construction, combination and ar rangement of parts, materials, dimensions, et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hoist comprising a frame having a means vertically and means for holding the lift-means balanced on the fulcrum at all points in the adjustment of the latter 3. A hoist comprising a frame having a movable guide, weight-carrying means ad-- j ustable in the frame and pivoted at one end to the guide, and an adjustable fulcrum for the weight-carrying means, along which the I latter can be horizontally adjusted to vary the leverage, and means for raising the fulcrum to lift the weight-carrying means.v

It is evident 1 4. A hoist comprising lift-arms, pivotally fixed at corresponding ends,'with their respective outer or weight-lifting ends horizontally adjustable towards or away from each other, means for adjusting the lift-arms vertically, and. means for causing the arms' to move in unison whenhorizontally adjusted. I H

5. A hoist comprising liftarms, pivotally fixed at corresponding ends, ,with their outer or weight-supporting ends movable in a horizontal plane, a member vertically movable beneath the weight supporting ends of port therefor, a knuckle-joint connection at e the pivoted ends of the arms "for keeping them equi-distant' from, a central point in the fulcrum at all times in their horizontal adjustment, and means for adjusting the fulcrum and lift-arms vertically in lowering or raising a load.

6-. A hoist comprising lift-arms, pivot adjustable member below the lift-arms, and

providing a fulcrum support therefor, a,

knuckle-joint connectionat the pivoted ends of the-arms for keeping them equi-distant from a central point in the fulcrum at all' times in their horizontal adjustment, means for adjusting the fulcrum vertically to vraise or lower the lift-arms, and means for holding the arms in horizontal position at any and all times- 7 A hoist, relatively disposed to form a triangle, a liftmember disposed cross-wise between two of coniprising three uprights the uprights and movablev in avertical directlon therebetween, an auxiliary member co-K operating with the third upright and similarly ad ustable, a weight supporting arm,

disposed inwardly of. the'third upright, with one terminal "pivoted to the auxiliary memher and the outer or weight supporting terminalfdisposed forwardly of. the lift-member, uponwhich it'rests,and means for simultaneously moving the auxiliary and lift- .members whereby the opposite, e'nds'of the weight-supporting arm' are uniformly ad-;

justed in the raising or lowering of a load.

in presence of two witnesses;

FRANCIS E. DRAKE. Witnesses V WILLIAM HoERscH,

E NA A. CLAUssEN,

- I 'In testimony whereofI affix my signature I 'i 70 the-lift-arms and providing a fulcrum sup- 

